28 August 2007

5:23 pm cdt [link to video time 16m45s] alexandria, louisiana city council votes 5 - 2 to override mayor jacques roy veto of the city council's ordinance number 231; hiring of it's own attorneys: john w. "jock" scott and toni rachelle martin. mayor roy and other citizens insist that the city council hiring its own legal counsel outside the purview of the city attorney is a violation of alexandria's home rule charter.

first mayoral veto override in memory...

local attorney greg upton addresses the alexandria city council [link to video time 5m50s] and says that he represents the "consensus opinion of a group of about thirty-five or forty individuals that have been meeting for approximately the last six weeks."

mr. upton says that "in our opinion it's (ordinance 231) a serious and fundamental threat to our basic document of city government and thats the home rule charter." and that "abiding by the charter: its not optional...each and every member of the council is legally and ethically obligated to abide by the terms of the city charter. in our opinion ordinance 231 is illegal. voting to override the veto, in our opinion, would be allowing the consummation of an illegal act and would be a violation of the city charter."

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reverend david blunt "makes a plea" to the alexandria city council [link to video time 9m25s] and sternly rebukes the city council telling of a premonition he had in which a new leader of a city was being pulled down by a board or a council "they were pulling him down." thus warning the city council the fate of those who do not follow and reject leadership

“I suspect there to be litigation of some form, I don’t know at this time who the filing party or necessarily who the opposing party would be,” City Attorney Charles “Chuck” Johnson said in a phone interview.

There is a variety of ways the case could go on. A “declaratory judgment,” for instance, he explained, could be the next step if is filed by the mayor or a member of the public.

The Alexandria City Council members revived a controversial ordinance to allow the council to hire its own attorneys, but the ordinance has been stalled by a court order issued today.

Mayor Jacques Roy filed a lawsuit as soon as the ordinance was readopted by the council by overriding the mayor's veto, prompting the 9th Judicial District Court to issue a temporary restraining order.

That means “it is enjoined from being in effect until further hearing and decision of the court,” Roy said in a phone interview after the meeting.

During today's council meeting, Councilmen Roosevelt Johnson, Myron Lawson, Louis Marshall, Everett Hobbs and Charles F. Smith Jr. voted to bring back the ordinance in an ongoing dispute some believe is hurting the city’s image.

The council overrode the mayor's veto of an ordinance authorizing the council to hire its own legal counsel.

Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy reacted swiftly Tuesday to a decision by five City Council members to override his veto of an ordinance allowing the council to hire its own attorneys by immediately suing to block its implementation.

Roy said he filed the suit as soon as the ordinance, which he had vetoed about a week ago, was readopted during Tuesday's council meeting.

The suit prompted the 9th Judicial District Court to issue a temporary retraining order, meaning the ordinance "is enjoined from being in effect until further hearing and decision of the court," Roy said after the meeting.

The ordinance, which seeks to allow the council to contract its own legal team independent of the city's legal department, has been the focus of disagreement about whether the hiring of such attorneys violates the City Charter.